Chapter 17 - The Offer in the Hallway
Trent's lawyer contacted Hannah with another settlement proposal while I remained in the hospital.
This time the language was softer.
Trent expressed concern for the baby, offered to pay certain medical costs, and asked for an opportunity to apologize through a mediator.
The proposal did not acknowledge the assault.
It said our disagreement had been magnified by other people's involvement.
I refused the meeting.
I wanted a divorce and a safe future for Grace, not another room in which Trent could rewrite what had happened.
Hannah drafted a response through formal channels.
Later an investigator told us that Trent's meeting with the lender employee had involved requests for records he should have obtained through counsel.
No finding of wrongdoing by that employee had been announced.
That distinction mattered.
Every development did not need to become a conspiracy for the case to be serious.
Meanwhile Nicole's group-chat recording had been authenticated sufficiently for prosecutors to identify it as important evidence.
Investigators also retrieved metadata and statements from people who had received copies.
I felt grateful to Mallory, but I knew her cooperation might cost her friendships.
I wrote her a thank-you note through the advocate without asking her to answer.
Then I worked with Hannah on what would happen after the birth.
The hospital could protect my medical privacy.
Family court would handle future parental issues according to the law and the child's interests.
None of that erased the possibility of further litigation.
I hated that Trent could continue creating paperwork from a distance.
But I was learning to separate what I could prepare for from what I could not control.
At thirty-one weeks, Dr.
Ortiz permitted me to return to the temporary apartment with close follow-up.
My first evening there, Alex assembled the rocking chair.
He set the last screw on the floor, looked at the instruction sheet, and admitted he'd put one brace backward.
I laughed until my abdomen ached.
Then a knock sounded.
Both of us went still.
Alex checked the peephole and relaxed slightly.
It was Hannah.
She had a copy of the prosecutor's latest filing.
It listed the upcoming hearing date and an allegation that the kitchen assault had been preceded by financial planning.
“This changes the stakes,” she said.
May you like
“And Trent knows it.”
